Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PLYMOUTH -ÊPrior to Tuesday's boys basketball game with Tippecanoe Valley, Plymouth honored its 1982 state championship team in a ceremony that included former NBA player and current Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles.
When the game started, Viking coach Bill Patrick said his team played as if that 1982 Plymouth team was on the court.
Valley came out flat and hesistant and the Pilgrims took advantage en route to a 58-48 win to remain undefeated at 4-0.
Plymouth came out aggressive from the tipoff as Chad Clinton controlled the tip and nailed a three-pointer to give the Pilgrims an early 3-0 lead.
The Pilgrims were 6 of 10 from the field in the first quarter to jump out to a 15-9 lead.
Valley's Steven Tillman hit 1 of 2 free throws with 27 seconds left in the first half to cut Plymouth's lead to 23-18.
The Vikings then had another defensive breakdown that allowed Clinton to get an open look at another three-pointer which he nailed as time expired in the first half to give his Pilgrims a 26-18 lead heading into the break.
Plymouth seperated itself in the third quarter as five different Pilgrims scored and their lead was extended to 44-26.
Junior Randy Davis scored seven of his game-high 15 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Valley struggled from the field in the third quarter and also had trouble hanging onto the ball.
The Vikings turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter, which allowed them only eight field goal attempts.
Valley also became frustrated at Plymouth's style of play. The Pilgrims have long been known for an offense that utilizes a lot of screens and movement without the ball which at times can be difficult to deal with.
"We had a couple of kids who got frustrated with the game (in the third quarter)," said Patrick. "They didn't give up they just got frustrated."
The frustration continued in the fourth quarter as the Pilgrims extended their lead to 23 points at the start of the quarter.
The Vikings went on a 14-3 run to end the game to avoid losing by more than 10 points.
The Pilgrims defeated Valley 53-36 in Akron last year.
Chad Hoffer led the way for Valley with 12 points and six rebounds while Shane Salyer was the only other Viking in double figures with 11.
Tillman came off the bench for nine points for Valley and Patrick credited Tillman with being one of the few bright spots on the evening.
Besides Davis, Clinton finished his evening with 11 points for the Pilgrims. Byron Faulstich came off the Plymouth bench for nine points.
"Plymouth is a good basketball team," said Patrick. "We weren't mentally ready to play."
Before the varsity contest, the 1982 state championship was honored.
Plymouth coach Jack Edison addressed the near capacity crowd during the ceremony and thanked coach Patrick for scouting for his team during their title run.
The Pilgrims defeated Gary Roosevelt that year 75-74. Skiles hit a last-second shot to send the game into overtime. The contest went to a second overtime before the Pilgrims pulled it out.
Skiles spoke to the crowd and watched the first half of the game with his father and the rest of the 1982 team.
The Vikings, 3-1 on the season, travel to John Glenn (1-1) Saturday night.
PLYMOUTH 58, T. VALLEY 48
T. Valley 9 9 8 22 - 48
Plymouth 15 11 18 14 - 58
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Hoffer 4-9 2-2 6 4 12
*Salyer 5-8 1-2 1 0 11
*Parker 2-6 0-0 1 2 4
*Kindig 3-6 3-4 5 2 9
*Nelson 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Tillman 3-5 3-4 3 1 9
Scherzer 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
Totals 18-36 9-12 17 9 48
Plymouth FG FT R S Pts.
*Ja. Renz 2-3 2-2 1 0 6
*Wendel 3-7 0-1 9 1 6
*Clinton 4-7 0-0 5 0 11
*Davis 6-14 3-4 1 2 15
*Palmer 3-3 2-2 3 2 8
Faulstich 3-5 2-3 1 1 9
Je. Renz 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Gretter 1-3 0-0 0 0 2
Schafer 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Nedlinger 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 22-43 10-14 23 6 58
Three-point goals - T. Valley 3-5 (Hoffer 2-3, Scherzer 1-1, Tillman 0-1), Plymouth 4-11 (Clinton 3-4, Faulstich 1-2, Ja. Wendel 0-3, Davis 0-1, Gretter 0-1). Turnovers - T. Valley 17, Plymouth 13. Fouls - T. Valley 14, Plymouth 15. Fouled out - None.
JV - Plymouth 43, T. Valley 28
Valley (2-2) -ÊJordan Boggs 5, Anthony Tolson 5, Matthew Richie 3, Devin Vogel 3, Bryce Hardesty 2, Taylor Burkhart 1, Kyle Ritchey 1, Kenny Campbell 1
